I got home after trying to relax at this coffee shop with "Lajja (Taslima Nasrin's)" to my aid at around 900pm. As usual I grabbed the remote to assert my authority on the one thing which has been my most obedient companion since I gained consciousness, my TV. ABC is showing Katherine Close, a 13 year old from Jersey facing the judges in the final round of the Scripps spelling bee contest. The commentators build the thrill. Not many girls have won in the recent years. I could see Indian parents with their kids who couldn't make it to the last round. This, in a game where Indian winners are very prominent. The word in the final round was Ursprache. You should check out the pronunciation of this word.
The point of this is not to reminisce about the ennui of my evenings. I wonder if the sudden popularity of events like the spelling bee contest are an acknowledgement of the fact that the "knowledge-economy" is upon us. Are books lilke 'The world is Flat' and constant surveys comparing the college graduates in the US to the those in India and China, finally setting the ball rolling. Is the common man of this country perceiving the power of specialized skill ? Movies show spelling bee contests as a way for kids from poor societies to move upwards.
I abruptly since I need to be somewhere :)
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